Exp Realty, dad or mum firm Exp Holdings, CEO Glenn Sanford and Agent Brent Gove, have been dismissed from a lawsuit alleging drugging and sexual assault.
Plaintiff Anya Roberts’ go well with was filed in December 2023 in California.
Robert’s go well with particulars alleged drugging and sexual assault by Exp Realty brokers Michael Bjorkman, David Golden and Brent Gove.
Exp Realty, Exp Holdings and Glenn Sanford are named as defendants (the “Entity Defendants”), on the idea they knew what was occurring and did nothing.
Of their Movement to Dismiss, Exp Realty, Exp Holdings and Sanford argued Roberts
failed to incorporate any details supporting the rivalry that they obtained something of worth due to sexual assaults or that they knew or ought to have recognized about Golden and Bjorkman’s actions.
Defendants argue that there aren’t any recruitment efforts in play since Roberts already labored for eXp, by no means joined Golden’s downline, and no matter profit eXp might obtain from her employment was already obtained on the time she joined, not after a failed try to change her sponsor.
The court docket agreed, stating
Even studying the grievance in favor of the Plaintiff, it stays unclear what profit the Entity Defendants stood to realize from Plaintiff switching her sponsor in response to the alleged intercourse acts.
In abstract, Roberts’ argument that “what could profit Golden or Bjorkman essentially advantages the Entity Defendants” was rejected.
Moreover, the Entity Defendants accurately notice a couple of different deficiencies, together with Plaintiff’s failure to allege that the Defendants had been made conscious of the police experiences or that they knew the contents.
Plaintiff additionally alleges that in April 2022, an eXp Board Member addressed the failure to take motion to curb sexual assault incidents on the conferences, however Sanford advised that Board Member that “this was not their drawback and can be merely a three-to-five-day newspaper phenomenon after which would disappear.”
Even accepting the reality of the allegation concerning Sanford’s remark to the Board Member, who stays unidentified, it’s unclear whether or not that dialog included dialogue of the convention attendance scheme involving Bjorkman and Golden as alleged right here.
It must be famous that Roberts, ought to she want to take action, has been given permission to amend her Criticism “to remedy the
deficiencies associated to the employer relationship, amongst some other deficiencies.”
Roberts cites Brent Gove (proper) as a central determine in a “high-pressure recruitment effort” concentrating on her.
Gove can be cited as being an attendance throughout situations of the alleged sexual assault.
In arguing he must be dismissed, Gove put forth Roberts’ Criticism contained
inadequate details to reveal “enticement” as a result of the alleged recruitment actions had been “nothing greater than passive ads…”
Defendant Gove additionally challenges the Criticism for failure to allege details demonstrating his information of the sexual assaults adequate to confer beneficiary legal responsibility.
In granting Gove’s movement, the court docket famous
The Court docket typically agrees with the Defendant’s critique and believes the Criticism would profit from extra details articulating Gove’s consciousness of the alleged dangerous habits with extra specificity.
Once more if she chooses to take action, Roberts was granted depart to file an Amended Criticism pertaining to allegations towards Gove.
If filed, Roberts Amended Criticism is due by Friday, June thirteenth.
Michael Bjorkman is immediately implicated in Roberts’ drugging and sexual assault.
After taking the drug from Golden, Roberts alleges that she “blacked out”, and recollects that Bjorkman uncovered himself to her the following morning and that she believes she was sexually assaulted by Golden and Bjorkman.
She additionally believes that the lads took footage of her that night time.
In looking for to have the case dismissed towards him, Bjorkman argued Roberts
did not allege a “industrial intercourse act” and that she did not allege “enticement” or “recruitment”.
He additional contends that as a result of the federal declare towards him must fail, the Court docket lacks material jurisdiction to listen to the remaining state legislation allegations towards him.
The court docket disagreed.
We reject the Bjorkman’s argument that Bjorkman showing bare couldn’t rise to that of a “intercourse act”.
Moreover, Plaintiff alleges that Bjorkman “knew that Golden organized to have a supply of GHB made to their resort for the aim of drugging Ms. Roberts in order that they might each have interaction her in intercourse acts” and that “Bjorkman…fraudulently brought on Ms. Roberts to interact in sexual contact for the aim of utilizing that relationship to get Ms. Roberts to alter her sponsor…”
The sexual contact referenced in ¶143 was first described in ¶81, the place Roberts acknowledged that she “believes she was sexually assaulted by …Defendant Bjorkman the earlier night time whereas she was incapacitated.”
The Court docket finds that that is adequate to have alleged a intercourse act.
Whether or not it was industrial in nature can be resolved in Plaintiff’s favor.
The coexistence of the intercourse act and the factor of worth is the alternate essential to fulfill a industrial intercourse act.
On Could 2nd a trial for Roberts case was tentatively scheduled for April twenty eighth, 2025.
The result of a lawsuit filed in March 2023, additionally alleging drugging and raping of ladies and likewise naming once more naming Bjorkman and David Golden as defendants, stays pending. A trial within the lawsuit has been scheduled for April twenty first, 2025.
Brent Gove stays an Exp Realty Agent however Golden and Bjorkman are now not brokers. In a November 2023 Exp Agent firm earnings name, Glenn Sanford is reported to have referred to Golden and Bjorkman as “two dangerous actors”.
Sanford allegedly referred to Bjorkman as a “intercourse trafficker and racist” and talked about the potential for jail time for the previous agent.
Prison prices towards Bjorkman had been dismissed by a district legal professional’s workplace, nevertheless, and the grievance claims that Sanford accused Bjorkman of assault.
Sanford’s statements prompted a $20 million defamation lawsuit from Bjorkman, filed in April.